The World As We Knew It
by therealwolfy
Summary: After closing up an eerie case, officer Judy Hopps feels as though something ominous is on its way to Zootopia. Twenty missed calls and some haunting texts await her the morning after. An animal should always trust their instincts... Rated M for violence, death, drugs, and blood!
1. Day Zero

Murder was in the young buck's eyes. His blank stare looking up to the sky was everything but peaceful. Police lights flashed around the ally and reflected off the metal surface of the fire escape. Hushed whispers echoed while onlookers tried to piece together what had transpired just minutes prior. A squad car rolled onto the sidewalk over the curb and parked just a few feet away from the ominous yellow police tape. The doors opened and the orange fox stepped out, followed by a gray rabbit. The fox was somewhat fit, with a long bushy tail that swayed as he walked under the tape, holding it up for the rabbit, onto the crime scene.

"Sweet cheese and crackers..", the bunny said under her breath as she looked back at the fox, who was pulling off his sunglasses.

The fox was two year police force veteran, Nick Wilde, ZPD. And his partner, Judy Hopps, looked horrified. The victim's throat had been ripped out, leaving a large pool of blood accumulating around the body. A few steps away was the body of a bobcat, with three bullet holes in his chest.

"What happened here?", Nick asked, turning to the officer on scene. The tiger perked up and stuttered, "the b.. Bobcat there was attacking the deer so I drew my weapon and shouted at him to get off. But when I did, the bobcat just looked at me.", a cold shiver overcame the tiger as he visibly shuddered. "His.. His eyes… They pierced my soul. Then the bobcat slowly rose from the corpse and started to walk towards me". Judy had been writing down his statement, and had been peeking over her notebook at the bloodied cat. Her heart sunk into her chest as she imagined the scene. "...That's when I fired my weapon", the tiger concluded, still visibly shaken. "Thanks for that. I think we've got it from here.", Nick said putting his paw on the tigers shoulder. The tiger gave a halfhearted smile and turned back toward the police vehicles. Nick turned to his partner, who had her eyes glued to the neck wound on the deer. "What do you think?, Nick said to judy, as she turned and faced him. Her violet eyes glimmered in the flashing emergency lights. "I think I quit", she said meeting his gaze. He chuckled lightly, "I'll make sure to buy that weird carrot beer you like so much." She let out a smile and took a breath. He had been with her from the beginning, from savage jaguars, to undercover street races, and never once failed to make her smile. "Honestly it reminds me of the nighthowler case. Maybe he got infected eating a bugaburger, they did just open that new plant on that old farm off FM 3136. Their might have been an old flower or two". Nick scratched his chin, "that's kind of a stretch there, carrots". She sighed. "Well, what do you think?". Nick looked over at the bodies, "something just feels… off. Like why was the deer in a dark ally in the first place? And wh-" He was cut off by a grunt escaping from the mouth of the deer. Judy flinched at the blood curdling sound as she turned around. "Oh god he's alive!" A parametric gasped as he rushed over to the deer. The medic, an older antelope reached into his bag to retrieve fresh gauze wraps. The deer flinched slightly and the medic put pressure on the wound. "You told me you checked his pulse, Dave!", he shouted to the other medic who was walking up. The deer squirmed a little, choking for breaths. The medic, Dave, had walked to where Nick and Judy were standing. "I.." He started, "I did.. Th.. there was nothing.. No breathing.. A.. and he lost nearly all of his blood.. I.. I.." He stuttered out. ' _Oh god how did I mess this up? I'm going to get fired! My kids.. What if he dies? What if I could have saved him?'_ A worried look overcame his face as he ran back to the ambulance to retrieve a stretcher. Nick and Judy both just stood there, stunned at the chaos. The crowd that had gathered around sparked back up with picture flashes and talk. Judy instinctively grabbed Nick's arm for comfort as Dave rushed pass with the medical equipment. They loaded the deer on the stretcher and started to wheel him toward the ambulance. "Judy.." Nick said quietly. "I don't think that dude was alive." Judy looked up at the startled fox, trying to think of a witty comeback. She opened her mouth, but the look on Nick's face kept her from saying something silly and clever. She just have his arm a soft squeeze and smiled. He loved her smile. It never ceased to make him feel warm inside. The ambulance took off into the sunset, towards the hospital, leaving only dust and confused onlookers.

Forty minutes later and forensics had finished up by taking pictures and picking samples. The bobcat had been covered and been placed into the coroner van. "There's not much for us to do here now." Nick said with a sigh. He was exhausted and tired from the long, eventful day. Some chatter over the radio quietly sparked up about a robbery on the other part of town. Judy looked at nick and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Our shift is just about up, and you promised me beer." she shot him a smile. He smirked. A cold one sounded really nice. Some chatter on the radio about a drunk driver quietly hummed with the sound of the wind. "I'll be by around 9? Nick asked. Judy nodded and smiled. Her smile could make nick do just about anything. Some radio chatter about a hospital clicked over the mumbling of the onlookers who hadn't left yet. "Alright, carrots. Let's go back to the station and punch out." The duo walked to the cruiser and settled in, taking one last look at the blood covered alleyway. "Judy mumbled under her breath, "what a day".

Judy sat alone in her apartment, pacing a little bit as she noticed the clock read 9:27. ' _Nick always came over early'_ the voice in her head shouted as thoughts of nick being hurt rushed over her. Thump. Her ears shot up trying to figure out where the sound came from. Clash. Louder this time. Running footsteps could be heard echoing in the stairwell. "Oh god, judy!" I familiar voice called out from the stairs. Nick was running up towards her room. "Judy"! He cried out again. Her heart pounded faster as nick could be heard getting closer and closer to her door. "JUDY!" Nick yelled as he kicked open the door to the bunnies apartment room. "N..Nick! What?" Judy stammered out to the panting fox. "Th..They.." He paused and looked to her. "They had BLUE. BARRY. VODKA." He ecstatically smiled as he pulled the blue bottle from the bag she just noticed on the floor. Judy sighed and facepawed herself and shook her head. "Can you believe it! When I walked into the store and got your weird orange stuff, which, by the way I got the last case of, go me. They had this giant stand of the stuff and-" Judy buried her head into nick's chest. "Why do you always do this?" she asked not expecting a response. Nick laughed and gave her a big hug, picking her up off the ground and swinging her around. Judy _was_ worried. She loved nick. She didn't know what she would do without him, without her partner, her best friend. Nick set her down and walked into the kitchen, grabbing two glasses. "Nick, one day something's gonna happen and yo-" "Yes, yes you won't know and blah blah blah" He quipped back before she could finish. "What do you wanna watch?" he asked pouring the vodka into the glasses. She thought to herself for a moment. When she watches romance movies with him, it always sparks buried feelings for nick. And that always made her sad, because she knew they could never be a couple romanticly. She saw what other interspecies couples go through. Parents judging, random civilians starring, the name calling.. she could probably handle it, but she couldn't put Nick through that. Not for her sake. She had convinced herself she doesn't like him in that way. She just had to ignore his charm, and his fluffy butt, and his.. His predator scent, his musk.. His.. ' _stop it, Judy!_ She snapped out of her thoughts and said "How about that hangover movie?". "Ha!" He laughed, "What a coincidence!" he bellowed walking back towards her with the multiple bottles of alcohol.

Nick was happy to forget about what he saw today. In the thirty minutes of the movie, he has already drank a quarter of the bottle, and two carrot beers. His vision was blurry, but stable. He was tipsy, pushing the line of drunkenness. He'd just call a cab like he usually does when he stays late at night. He went to look at his watch but somehow between sitting down and now, he had subconsciously laid his arm around judy, who was nuzzled into his side. Nick smiled. He loved judy, she was smart, kind, and.. A rabbit. Nick couldn't bare the thought of people calling her names on the street if they dated. She just needed to find a nice rabbit to fall in love with. He took another drink from his glass with his free hand. He buried those feelings along with the rest. He was just happy being her friend. Why would he go and ruin that? She nuzzled closer into his side. His heart pounded harder. ' _Oh god i love her so much'_ His head yelled.

' _Oh man he noticed'_ Judy exclaimed to herself. She just couldn't resist. Nick's scent was so dangerous, and strong. It smelled like how summer rain felt. Amazing. She thought she could sneak a sniff by shifting. She didn't move or dare look up. ' _What if he thinks i'm some kind of creep?'_ She didn't like that thought. She didn't want to lose him. She hated the thought of someday a nice vixen taking him away. She wanted him to be happy. " _I can make you happy_ ". She thought to herself. "I know you can, Judy, and you do." said slightly drunk Nick. Judy realised she had said that last part out loud. Her ears turned bright pink from embarrassment. She was drunk and was searching for the words to say but was interrupted, "do I make you happy?" Nick said with a drunken slur. ' _Oh god this was it.'_ In her drunken fueled lust she was going to tell him. She felt the words coming up. ' _Oh no.'_ She sat up and took a deep breath. "Nick, for a long time i've searched for answers to questions that i- and you're asleep." she said looking at a passed out Nick on her couch. She rolled her eyes and let out a small chuckle."Dumb fox" she whispered. She stood up and fetched a blanket for her favorite fox. She draped it over him carefully to not disturb him. She pet him on the ears and kissed the top of his head. "Goodnight" she whispered.


	2. Day One

The morning came like a punch in the face. Nick's head pounded with agony as he slowly sat up. The hangover he was experiencing was unforgiving. The pulsing rushed through his brain down to his tail. ' _How did I get home',_ he thought. He looked up and noticed someone had changed the color of the living room in his apartment. And the furniture. And the posters.

"Damn it" he huffed as the pieces of the puzzle came together.

He looked over to Judy, who was asleep on her bed. Nick tried to recall the events of last night but thanks to the wonders of alcohol, He could not. He gave a half hearted stretch and slumped over to the bathroom to search for some aspirin to tame his pain. He opened the bathroom door and rummaged through the cabinet and turned up empty. He closed the cabinet door and faced the mirror hanging low, over the sink. His fur was matted and ragged, and his eyes half open and red.

"Heh" he said, pointing finger guns to his reflection. "Still got it" he said quietly to himself.

He dropped his paws to the sink and flicked on the faucet. The water was cold to the touch and sent a chill down his back. He cupped his paws and splashed water on his face to help wake him up. He wiped the grime from his eyes and sighed. He desperately wanted to be in his own home, where he could shower and take a questionable amount of painkillers.

'I bet Judy's morning isn't going to be better", he scoffed.

It wasn't. The blast of her alarm clock snatched her from her dream in an instant. The jolt awake made her head rush, causing a quick and painful head throb. Her hangover was just as bad, and her brain was just as slow. Her mind raced through deep sand trying to process the information she was receiving. _Loud noise. Alarm clock. In My apartment. Morning. Nick in bathroom. Work today. Hangover. Need pills._ She blinked slowly as her brain powered on. She flopped out of her bed, wearing an old gray "Carrot Days" t-shirt, and black gym short shorts. She stumbled to the kitchen and looked over to Nick as he was picking at his teeth in the mirror. She walked to the counter drawer and pulled out a half empty bottle of generic headache medicine. She looked over her shoulder to see Nick rubbing his head. She rolled her eyes and shook enough pills out for the two of them. She fetched two glasses and filled them with cool tap water.

"Carrots?" Nick stammered out, "Have you seen my phone?"

Judy slowly shook her head and walked toward the fox. His blue shirt was wrinkled and crinkled at the collar. His shorts bunched up around the legs and waist. The two looked like they had just fought a polar bear, and the bear had won. Judy's fur wasn't as bad as Nicks, but still enough to show the had not groomed herself yet. She stretched her hand out to offer the fox some relief from his headache.

"Hello sweet embrace", he said sarcastically, taking the pills and water.

"Good morning gorgeous", Judy snickered. She had never seen Nick like this before, unkempt and all. Nick downed the pills and patted her on the head.

"Thank you, long eared one."

Judy smiled, "No problem, orange one".

Nick hunched down a little like a cave fox and grunted,

"need food. Need sleepy. Need brushy". Judy giggled and did the same pose. "Hungry bunny eat fox", she said gnawing on Nick's arm, before jokingly sputtering like she had tasted a rotten carrot.

"You need a shower", she said with a disgusted look. Nick stuck out his tongue,

"I bet you're no better", he said, stepping towards the half awake bunny. She fained terror and threw her arms over her head, "Oh sweet death, I embrace thee! Make my hangover go away!" Nick chuckled, and looked around. "What time is it anyway?".

"Six in the morning. Enough time to grab a bite, drop you off and go to work" she said, more conscious than before. She patted her pockets and noticed her phone was missing as well. She walked over to the couch and flipped up a cushion to reveal the two missing phones, both dead.

"Here you go Nick", she said handing him one of the devices. "Huh", he said confused. "My battery was almost full last night. Weird." He shrugged and plugged it in the the wall charger on Judy's desk. "Hey that's mine!" Judy pouted, knowing she probably wouldn't have a phone all day. She rolled her eyes and went to her closet to find her uniform all nice and neatly pressed for the long day ahead. Her brain clicked into gear. ' _Right. Shower first.'_

"Wanna meet me at the cafe or.." she asked leading him to make a suggestion.

"And miss out on a chance to see your cute butt, pfft, no way." He called out from the Desk, trying to turn his phone on. His heart dropped when he realized what he had said. His face burned red and he didn't dare look up from his phone. Judy's face burned red as well, hearing that from Nick of all people. She couldn't tell if he was joking. A flash of memory came from last night's drunken tale. About what she said, and what Nick had said. ' _Oh man. I almost told him about-'_ Her thoughts were interrupted by Nick's Phone vibrating from multiple notifications. The phone kept buzzing in his paw. When he clicked on one, another popped up. Phone calls, texts, voice messages. He looked over at Judy with a concerned look.

"What is it?" she asked. "I.. I don't know.." The phone continued to buzz, "A bunch were from our co-workers, but I can't read them until it stops receiving them".

She walked over to the desk and stood with Nick. The phone buzzed for the last time, with a banner that read, "43 new messages, 27 missed calls, 7 new voice-mails". Judy looked at the phone, and back to Nick. His thumb clicked the text icon, the newest message from Clawhouser, the receptionist.

"911" 4:33am

Nick's fur stood up on the back of his neck and his heart pounded. He scrolled up.

"Please answer!" 4:21am

A chill washed over Judy. Nick continued to scroll through the messages, reading from newest to oldest.

"NICK!" 3:59am

"We need you here, now!" 3:35am

"Bogo is asking for all available officers" 3:01am

"Dude it's crazy busy right now, call me back ASAP" 2:43am

"Hey call me when you get this" 1:51am

"Hey Nick, would you mind coming in a little early tomorrow?" 12:27am

Nick reached the top of the messages from Clawhouser. Nick's heart pounded faster as his thumb trembled towards the back button, to the main messages screen. Tap. Nick's heart skipped a beat when he saw eight other officers, including the Chief of police, had tried to contact him. Nick clicked on the next text message but his phone went blank. He fumbled with the cable making sure it was plugged in as he desperately tried to power back on his phone. It lit up with the logo, then back to black.

"Come on damn it!" he whimpered out. The phone was completely dead, and needed time to charge. Nick dropped his phone on the desk and put his paws over his face. Judy Touched Nick's arm for comfort.

"Chief is going to kill me for not answering", Nick sighed.

"Well, us" Judy added, assuming since Chief had asked for all officers. Nick was scared of what Bogo was going to say. He peaked over to Judy, who also had a nervous look on her face.

"You know, I was wondering why my butt was vibrating all night", he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"What do you think happened?" Judy asked, clutching Nick's arm. Nick walked towards the apartment room's only window and peered out to the streets. Empty. Nothing out of the ordinary for so early in the morning. Most mammals don't leave their houses until seven or eight. "You don't think.." Judy trailed on. "What?" Nick replied with a raised eyebrow. "Never mind", she stated, "Let's just get to the station".

"Okay but if we're already in trouble, then dibs on the shower first!" Nick pulled up his shirt as we walked to the bathroom. Nick wasn't ripped or full of muscles, but with the regular exercise, he was more fit then Judy remembered. Toned muscles shaped his fur and contorted his back. Nick closed the door and the water started. "Be quick!" she shouted.

Two quick showers later they were ready to go. Nick borrowed an XXL dark blue bunnies' sized hoodie that Judy had for lazy cold days, and wore his same shorts. Judy Put on a Black t-shirt and gray shorts, and had her pressed uniform in her arms. They grabbed their phones and walked out the door. Nick didn't own a car. He didn't necessarily enjoy walking everywhere, he simply just couldn't afford one. Judy, on the other paw, had a nice little four door "Chevette hare" that she had bought to travel home and back. They opened the main door to the streets and Hopped into her little red car. It was slightly cramped for Nick, due to it being "bunny sized". Judy plugged her phone into the car charger and started off towards the station. Nick plugged the wall charger into the car adapter and held the power button on his phone. The screen lit up and Judy started towards the station.

Nick's phone powered on and flashed a "Hamsung" logo, then the home screen. Judy Looked over to her partner in the passenger seat flipping this thumb around the screen.

"Anything?" she asked.

"All of the messages just say 'help' and 'come to the station'." He said laying the phone in his lap. A shrill scream startled the duo. They both scanned the empty street for the source of the commotion. Judy turned down a street to find someone laying on the sidewalk, blood soaked.

"Nick.." Judy pointed but Nick had already had his eyes locked on another body on the opposite side of the street. Judy stopped the car and reached to open her door. "Wait!" Nick said reaching over and grabbing her paw, stopping her from pulling the handle. "What?" she turned to Nick with wide eyes. She was always one to lend a paw for help anyone who needed it. She wanted to desperately jump out of the car and help the mammals laying on the sidewalk. But she trusted Nick with her life. She trusted his strange way of thinking and instincts.

"Judy, those guys are dead, and whoever killed them probably isn't far off. There must have been some kind of riot last night and-" a large paw slammed on the passenger window with a loud _thwack_ , leaving a bloody mark.

The two let out a large gasp as Judy fumbled with the gear shift, throwing it into reverse. The tires screeched, as they accelerated backwards in a hurry. The assailant, large tiger, stood in the street, now in front of them. Judy raced the car back to the main road, and gunned it towards the station.

There were more bodies laid around the streets, along with more upright mammals, whom were covered in blood. They passed a large building that had caught fire sometime in the night, and now was smoldering black, releasing white smoke. Nick looked to the sky to see multiple smoke clouds accumulating. Nick shook his head and flipped on the radio, hoping for some kind of clue of what happened. Along flat tone exited the car's speakers. Nick flipped the dial to the next station.

" _This is the Zootopia emergency broadcast system. This is not a test. All residents are encouraged to evacuate the city. Please be advised. Zootopia has issued a state of emergency. Reports of savage attacks have been confirmed throughout the city, from both prey and predators alike. Please be advised. Residents are encouraged to leave all belongings, except essentials, behind and evacuate to safe zones outside of the city. Safe zones outside of the city walls include Taylor high school, Bunny burrows. Cresson high school, Cresson. Samsig stadium, Wichworth._ The long flat tone repeated. Judy was visually shaking, holding a paw over her mouth. "Oh god, Nick", she turned to him. Nick met her stare with his bright green eyes. ' _This is the Zooto-' Click._

Nick turned off the radio, "Judy, those mammals weren't savage". She looked back at the road, which was littered with bodies. Neither of them said a word for the rest of the drive.

Judy pulled to the front of the station, and keyed off the ignition. The walkway and stairs leading to the building were soaked with dried blood and the remains of dozens of bodies. The doors were smashed in and windows broken, but blocked with multiple desks, filing cabinets, and a vending machine. The stench of iron and rotting open wounds filled the air, staggering the fox and bunny. Nick looked down at Judy for a moment, before taking a step towards the carnage.

"Nick!" Judy whispered. Nick turned and put a paw up, indicating he'll be cautious. Nick continued toward the makeshift barricade, tiptoeing around pools of blood and body parts. Judy followed, lightly grabbing Nick's bushy tail. Judy gagged at the sight of mammals missing limbs and said missing limbs. At the top of the steps, Nick peaked over the wall of office furniture to see three officers lying face down in a mess of blood and trash. The front entrance looked like a tornado had come and threw everything that wasn't bolted to the floor around. Nick gestured to Judy that the coast looked clear. Judy looked up with scared eyes and a twitching nose. Nick was terrified of course, but standing in the open didn't make him feel better either. He put a paw on her cheek, and nodded. She put her paw over his, and took a deep breath, before nodding. The fox got a foothold in the desk and lifted himself up and over, stumbling to the ground. Judy followed but landed a bit more gracefully. The two looked around at the damage and listened for signs of anything. The wind fluttered a few papers around and the distant sound of car alarms echoed. They quietly walked past the three former police officers. Judy took note of the teeth and claw marks, along with a few bullet holes in each of the bodies. Spent shell casings littered the floor like ants. She guessed about a hundred handgun cartridges and shotgun shells laid around their feet. Nick took notice of the casings and made sure not to kick any by accident. "Nick held up his paw, stopping Judy in her tracks. A whimper could be heard coming from one of the detective offices. Nick looked around for a blunt object of sorts, when his eye caught what appeared to be a chair let. He scooped it up and walked towards the door. Judy swiped a police baton from the ground before following. Nick's hand trembled as he reached for the half open door, pushing it open. He flinched when a yellow mass caught his eye, leaned against the wall.

"C.. Clawhouser?", Nick choked out. The yellow cheetah Didn't move. His eyes stared straight ahead, overlooking the two corpses in front of him. His paws and fur were stained with blood. Laying beside him, was the standard issue handgun, slide open revealing it had no more ammunition in the magazine. The larger the normal cheeta was breathing normally, with a slight whimper every few breaths.

Judy spoke up. "Are.. Are you okay?". A single tear fell from the cheetahs chubby cheek, eyes still fixed straight ahead. "I think he's in shock, carrots", Nick explained. Nick kneeled down next to the pudgy officer, and placed a gentle paw on his shoulder. In almost a completely calm voice, Clawhouser spoke, not removing his eyes glued to the wall ahead.

"You didn't answer your phones, guys. We really needed your help. It doesn't matter now, I guess. Everyone's dead so". Clawhouser gave a light shrug. Judy was fighting back tears.

"What.. what happened?" Nick asked, not ready for an answer. "Well", Clawhouser started, "There was a lot of them. Then there was more." he started to shake, keeping a calm voice. "They just kept coming'. They just kept trying to bite us. They just kept killing." He pushed Nick away and stood up, picking up the firearm. He pushed a button the the empty magazine fell out with a clank. Clawhouser started to cry as he reached for his last magazine in his belt.

"D..don't!" Nick stammered out as Clawhauser loaded his weapon. He pointed the now loaded firearm at Nick, who was shuffling on the ground.

"Oh guys", he sighed. It's not your fault. Nick's heart pounded in his chest like a drum. Some blood dripped from Clawhousers arm, trailing from an open bite wound escaping the torn fabric. The pistol started to shake in his hand as tears fell from his puffy eyes. Judy slowly and calmly walked up to the large cheetah. The gun snapped from Nick to Judy, stopping her in her tracks. Bated breaths escaped Clawhouser between tears. He lowered the gun and fell to his knees, sobbing loudly.

"When you get bitten, you turn into one of them", He said through the sobs. "I.. I don't want to be like them.. I.." He handed the gun to Judy, and fell backwards, propped up against the wall.

"I'm so scared". Judy looked back at Nick with worried eyes.

"Clawhouser, if you wan.." Judy stopped, noticing he was no longer breathing. Judy felt tears forming in the pit of her eyes, and felt Nick's warm arms wrap around her. Nick sniffled,

"We need to go". Judy nodded and they walked out the door. Nick took her paw and walked towards the parking garage of the station, where the armory was located. They slowly peaked out of each door the crossed and each wall they cornered. Down the stairs and into the enclosed storage facility. The door to the armory was open, and blood smeared. They entered expecting the worst. It was nearly empty. All of the lockers cleaned out except for a few loose shells. They opened each duffle bag and each compartment, searching for something to aid their journey to, wherever.

"Okay, carrots", Nick said counting the last few rounds. "With the gun from Clawhouser, we have Two handguns with 5 magazines, and seventy rounds total, one shotgun with one box of twenty five shells, a baton, and this cookie I found in Fangmires locker". He looked over at Judy, who was failing to hold back tears as one rolled down her face.

"Fangmeier", she whispered. Nick bent down to Judy and hugged her tight.

"I.." He started, "I know it looks bad. But we'll make it through this". He gave a genuine smile, "Come on, fluff, let's go. There might be others that need our help". She wiped her tears away and sighed.

"Okay, Nick. Let's go save Zootopia again". She buckled the police belt around her waist, loading the two magazines into the designated pockets, and holstered the handgun. Nick loaded the sixth and final shell into the pump action shotgun, caressing it in his arms. His belt holstered his handgun and the one extra magazine, and the nineteen loose shells for the shotgun. They exited the armory and entered the garage without a vehicle in sight.

"They must have all gone out last night", Judy said looking up to Nick. "I'd trade this shotgun for a vehicle larger than your clown sized car, carrots", he said hanging his head low, walking towards the stairs.

They walked less cautiously than before, having already walked passed this area. They stopped at the final steps of the stairs, hearing an unpleasant grunt.

"Oh buddy, I'm so sorry", Nick said under his breath, sighting the familiar large yellow cheetah. His eyes were a crimson red, and his mouth hung open. He stumbled around, arms limp, tail down, and ears low. Judy knew what needed to happen, she just wished it wasn't him. He was always eating donuts at the front desk, making small talk and gossip. He was her first real friend in Zootopia. ' _I wish we had talked more, or hung out more.. I just thought..'_ She closed her eyes and took a step forward, but was blocked by Nicks paw. She looked up at Nick who had a look she had never seen before.

"I'll do it", he whispered. She knew Nick loved Clawhouser. He was someone everyone just got along with and just liked. Nick un holstered his handgun with his free paw and took aim. His paw shook slightly with his finger on the trigger. Clawhouser turned and noticed the two finally,

grunting and stumbling towards them. Nick's ears drooped down as he squeezed the trigger.

 _Blam_

Shot rang out and echoed down every hall, living the partners ears ringing. The halls echoed with moans and shuffling. The shot rang like a dinner bell to every undead mammal in the area. Nick was staring down at Clawhouser, with a new bullet wound in his head. The cheetah was motionless. A tear fell at Nick's feet when he holstered his gun once again. Judy grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the exit.

"Nick, we gotta get out of here", she said hurried, not wanting to stick around to see more familiar faces. They climbed over the wall and saw the approaching undead. They both looked at each other, and ran for the car. They both slammed the doors shut and Judy jammed the keys into the ignition. The car roared to life, and they were off. She swerved to avoid any and all undead mammals, trying to keep up her speed. She turned down road after road until finally she saw a sign, "Bunny burrows: 284 miles". She turned onto the road and gunned it. Nick reached out and turned on her phone that was still charging. Her phone was smaller than his, fitting easily in his palm. The logo lit up the smaller screen and went to the home quickly turned it from vibrate to silent, knowing the onslaught of cries for help were coming.


	3. The Wolf

The undead that followed their vehicle quickly lost interest as Judy sped off, leaving them far city streets were littered with bodies and debris, making the drive a challenge. Judy focused what attention she had on the road while her thoughts raced. Nick lost his train of thought as well. His head still pounded from the recovering hangover, and the loud shots from his firearm didn't help much in the way of rehabilitation. He glanced down at the phone in his paw, noticing the messages finally stopped.

' _41 New Texts, 17 missed calls, 8 new voice-mails' ,_ The notification bubble read. Nick glanced over at Judy, who was occupied avoiding obstacles. He flicked open the text app, revealing the same pleas from their co-workers that Nick had received, along with twelve texts from "Mom". Nick got a cold chill reading that word. Nick lost his mother years ago to cancer, and his father before that to a stroke. He missed them dearly, but didn't envy Judy's worry for her parents. He hesitated for a moment, then opened the messages. The newest one read

" HIGH SCHOOL. B SAFE. LOVE U" 7:17am

Nick glanced at the clock on the dashboard radio, ' _7:57'_

"Judy" _,_ Nick stated with a bit of hope in his voice, "your mom texted you not long ago, said she was at the high school safe space". Judy gave a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Thank god", she stated, almost laughing, "I was so worried if they had even made it out of the burrows!". Nick gave a smile, he was happy for her. Losing family was never something he wished on people. He knew how awful the nights were, wishing you had said something one more time, or the 'what if' questions that kept him up. Then it dawned on him. Judy was presumably all he had left. He had no family, and they already found most of his friends at the station. She was most likely the only person who cared about him left. And he was happy it was her.

Judy grabbed her phone, still in Nick's hand, and called her mother. The phone rang, indicating the service was still good. It rang a few more times and went to voice-male. Judy sighed.

"I just hope everyone else made it out with her, and didn't, well, turn into that", she said with concern, swerving to avoid a large panther turned undead in the road.

"What do we call those things anyways?" Nick asked, "Zombies sounds too.. Silly".

"What about.. ' _The reanimated'"_ She said waving her fingers"

"Death eaters", Nick said making a scary face.

"Chompers"

"Walkers"

"Skinwalkers"

"Stumblers"

Judy opened her mouth to say another, but tilted her head a little.

"Ya know, I kinda like that. Stumblers" she said nodding in agreement.

Nick chuckled. It was nice to forget about all that had happened for a moment.

Judy's eyes widened, "No.." She said under her breath. She applied the brakes softly, slowing the vehicle as it approached the main bridge leading out of town. Nick Saw immediately what the problem was. The bridge, hanging over a nice two hundred foot cliffside, blocked by a wide range of vehicles, from smaller cars to larger trucks for all sizes of mammals. Judy's car came to a stop, and they surveyed the scene. Cars still running, doors wide open, spilled suitcases with clothing and belongings scattered about. There were dead passengers and dead pedestrians visible from where they were. Judy sunk a little in her seat with a defeated look. Nick looked around for an alternate route, noting the cliff was too steep to climb down. Judy tapped her phone and opened "moogle maps" to find an alternate route. Nick felt tense being stuck in the open like they were.

"Here", she pointed on her phone showing Nick, "we'll take the back roads", she said looking up at Nick. "Carrots, that's an extra seventy miles", he said glancing at the gas tank which was a little over half full. He had not traveled down that way before, and only assuming there was a filling station was extremely risky. He looked back down the road they had just traveled through. "I don't want to go back to town unless we need to" Nick said, knowing it was luck they made it this far. Judy put a paw over Nicks.

"What do we do?" she asked meeting his eyes. Nick stared into her bright violet eyes, getting lost for only a moment. Nick took Judy's phone from her other paw, and took a screenshot of the map. "Okay", Nick sighed, "let's hope for a stocked gas station in the middle of nowhere. I'm starving" he said giving a smile. Judy gave a light squeeze of his paw and put the car back in motion.

They drove on the very outskirts of town, luckily to mostly empty streets until they turned down a narrow road, leading into the lush countryside. They started to pass road signs and 'mile per hour' markers. "30" one read. "45" the next. Judy increased her speed to match each one. "65" the last one read. Judy laughed and shook her head. ' _Why am I following a speed limit?'_ she asked herself. Nick took notice of her driving habit as well, and chuckled.

"We should keep it slower, though" He stated, "We'll get better gas milage in case we can't find any fuel". Judy nodded, clutching the wheel a bit tighter. She didn't want to think about that. She just wanted to think about being with her family again. She paused her thoughts, glancing at Nick, who was observing the passing wheat fields. ' _Poor Nick'_ , she thought. ' _To be all alone during whatever this disaster is'_. She felt sad for Nick. She would do anything to make sure he was happy. She focused back on the long narrow road ahead. The image of faded paint on top of neglected roads, and overgrown grass creeping up the sides was going to be burned into her mind before the trip was over.

The trip so far had been pretty quiet, aside from the bumps of the unkempt road. They had only driven forty-four miles before noting an orange motorcycle parked on the dusty shoulder lane of the road. They both turned their heads in unison as they drove past. Nick turned to Judy with a puzzled look.

"Do you think.." Nick started but thought better then to think the worst. He peaked over to the fuel gauge, which read about a quarter left. Nick guessed that gave them about seventy more miles.

"Maybe he just stopped to pee", Judy offered her insight. Nick chuckled. "Probably".

' _He ran out of gas like we're going to'_ Nick's head screamed as anxiety filled his body. He looked out of the window again, trying to drown out the negative thoughts when Judy interrupted.

"Nick, look ahead", she said starting to slow the car. A lone figure appeared down the road. "Do you think it's a.. Umm… whatever we decided to call them", she asked, still slowing. "Uhh.. Stumblers!", Nick said, proud of himself remembering, "And i'm not sure". Nick gripped the shotgun and unbuckled his seat belt. They were approaching the unknown figure slowly, which had noticed and turned around. Judy stopped the car about fifty yards from where it was standing, and Nick opened the door, pulling the butt of the shotgun to his shoulder. The figure, now made out to be a Gray wolf, quickly raised his own weapon. He had what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle. Nick and the wolf locked eyes, waiting for the one to make a move. Nick had his finger on the trigger, ready to fire at the first twitch the wolf made. A bead of sweat from the hot noon sun formed on Nick's brow. The soft wind brushed across the tall grass quietly, being the only relief from the heat.

"What do you want?" the wolf called out.

The voice startled Nick. "N.. Nothing!" Nick called back.

The wolf slowly lowered his rifle, which inclined Nick to do the same. The wolf walked slowly up the the vehicle and stopped a few feet from the front. The wolf was wearing a backpack, a "Clawasaki" t-shirt, and jeans. Judy opened her door and leaned out.

"Was that your bike back there?" she asked pointing her thumb over her shoulder.

"Yeah", the wolf said ashamed. "I might have ran out of gas". The wolf looked down and kicked at a few pebbles and rubbed the back of his neck. "James" he said with a slight smile, looking back up.

"Oh, Nick. "I'm Nick, and this is Judy".

"So.. Where are ya'll headed?" the wolf asked, shifting his eyes from Nick to Judy.

"The burrows" Judy spoke up, "Going to the safe space. What about you?"

"I uhh.. I'm looking for someone" The wolf started, looking down the long road. "I'd.. umm.. I'd appreciate a ride to a gas station, if you've got room". Nick and Judy exchanged looks briefly.

"That's gonna be a no, James-y " Nick said shaking his head slowly.

The wolf's ears dropped a bit.

"Oh, no it's all good man I-"

"Nick!" Judy yelled, staring at Nick.

"What?" He started, "I was just kidding! Nahh come on wolf guy, let's go" Nick said, waving for the wolf to get in. Judy rolled her eyes and got back into the driver's seat. The wolf laughed, "oh god man I didn't want to impose or anything but it's really freaking hot out here and I didn't know how much farther it was. I was just thinking like 'how is this dude gonna leave me out here like this'". He shook his head and opened the back door, and squeezed into the car. He was bigger than Nick and it was easy to see he wasn't made for this type of vehicle. He didn't complain, though. He was just happy to have air conditioning.

The trio started off again, down the familiar narrow road.

"So.." The wolf asked, "a bunny and a fox? Kinda like those officers in Zootopia, right?" He laughed a bit. "What made ya'll travel together?".

Nick and Judy looked at eachother, then at the wolf in the back seat.

"Oh shit! Ya'll are those cops?" He asked dumbfounded. "Umm.. yeah." Nick said, chuckling to himself. "That's awesome! Yeah i've read about ya'll in the paper a few times, but I figured you'd be back in the city trying to save who you could" he said, not trying to sound demeaning. Judy's heart sunk to the bottom of her chest. She _had_ abandoned her city. All of the other officers gave their lives trying to protect the civilians and there they were, running from it. Judy blinked slowly, forcing a tear to fall that was building up.

"Do you live in the city?" Nick asked trying to hide the hurt he also felt.

"No, I live outside city limits. I didn't even realize anything was happening until I tried to go to work this morning. I stopped to fill up in the city and some old guy was yelling about how everyone was evacuated and "savage animals on the loose. You know, motorcycle doesn't really have a radio" he chuckled. "I don't really know exactly what's going on to be honest. I just went home and grabbed some gear and went off. Figured some hero cops like yourselves would fix it like ya'll did a few years ago.. Is it really that bad?".

"Oh bud, have I got some bad news for you".

After some quick explaining, the wolf was visibly worried. He didn't say much after that. The fuel warning light popped on with a ' _ding'_ notifying Judy that they needed it soon. They had only driven about twenty miles before they saw a sign that read ' _only gas for 100 miles'_. Judy sighed relief and looked at Nick, who was still unsure. He didn't say anything and just kept his fingers crossed it had fuel. They quickly came up to an older building, and pulled onto the dirt. The station looked like it was around before cars had been invented and only had two fuel pumps, which were blocked by two separate trio looked around for signs of life before exiting the vehicle. The wolf exited first, raising his rifle to his shoulder and scanning around. Nick and Judy walked behind before catching glimpse of a deer, stumbling around the left side. The wolf caught glance and stared. His rifle lowered a bit and he looked scared.

"Jeez.. You weren't kidding" the wolf said quietly, looking back at Nick.

Nick took a step forward, shouldered the shotgun and took aim at the deer. He took a breath, and pulled the trigger.

' _Blam_ '

Ears ringing, they barely heard the sudden shuffling coming from inside the building. The wolf raised his rifle to the sight of a lynx, pawing at the door. From the right side, another lynx, a female, approached. The lynx's arm was hanging by a thread, caked with dry blood. This sight sent a chill down Judy's spine.

' _Blam'_

Glass shattered and the lynx behind the door fell to the ground with a ' _thud'_. Nick pumped the shotgun, loading a new round into the chamber, and ejecting the old one. He took aim at the female lynx, and fired.

' _Blam'_

Each shot fired caused their ears to ring louder and louder. Nick looked around and saw no more. "Think it's clear?" Nick called out to Judy, cocking the shotgun.

"Judy?"

He looked over at Judy, who was pointing her handgun to the left side of the building. She was shaking, her eyes fixated. ' _What are you doing, Fluff? Are you scared?'_ Nick thought to himself. Then, stumbling from the side of the building into his view, came a shorter lynx.

A child.

Nick knew she couldn't pull the trigger. He wasn't ready to have that on himself either, though. He looked at James, who had the same look Nick did.

"Jud-"

' _Blam_ '

Nick's heart skipped a beat, and the child fell limp. Judy lowered her firearm.

"Clear over here", she said with a crack in her voice, walking towards the back of the building.

"I wasn't sure I could do that, man", the wolf whispered to Nick. Before Nick could say anything, Judy came around the other side. "No one out here, let's check inside". The wolf nodded and slowly reached for the door. Bits of glass fell as the door crept open. "Mind your paws", James whispered before entering. A quick scan revealed the place to be empty. The trio relaxed a bit.

"Okay, let's move one of those cars out of the way", Nick said, stretching. Judy grabbed a rug and laid it over the broken glass before stepping over. The two followed behind. Judy looked it the first car, a yellow car, searching for keys. She really didn't want to look for a set on the bodies.

"Nothing", she sighed to herself.

Nick went to the second car, blue, and searched as well.

"Same" he called out.

"Nick, do you know how to hotwire a car?" Judy asked, looking through the car's window.

"What, because I'm a fox I know how to hotwire cars?" he jokingly scoffed. "How unbecoming, Carrots".

She rolled her eyes, "dumb fox".

"I know how" James said, walking up the the first vehicle. Judy raised an eyebrow.

The wolf got on his knees and reached under the steering wheel. He pulled at the plastic cover until it snapped off, revealing a bundle of wires. Nick walked over, impressed. The wolf started pulling at a few of the wires and then looking up at the two.

"I have no idea what i'm doing" He explained.

Nick and Judy looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "TV made it look way more simple! Touch the two wires together and it starts!" The wolf said, trying to better his case.

Nick walked over the the male lynx, lying in broken glass from the door. Nick stopped at his side and looked back, before crouching down.

"Please don't haunt me for this.." he mumbled before reaching into the lynx's left pocket. He pulled out a phone, which a homescreen picture of the three lynxes. He let out a deep breath, and returned the phone, Then reached into the other pocket.

"Bingo", he said, pulling out a set of keys.

He clicked the car located button, which caused the blue car to beep. He walked over to the slightly larger vehicle. He put the keys in the ignition, and drove the car out of the way. Judy had already gotten into her car and was pulling up to the pump. She hopped out and walked to the very old pump, which still used the 'fill it up, then pay' method. She hooked the nozzle to her tank and started filling. Nick and James walked into the store to scavenge for food. James reached behind the counter and grabbed a few grocery bags, handing some to Nick. At first, they picked a few things out, not wanting to spend too much on overpriced gas station food. Then remembered it was the beginning of the apocalypse and loaded up. Bread, crackers, cereal, ramen; they grabbed it all. Nick walked out to the car with a full load, dumped it in, and returned. Walking back, the wolf walked out, and loaded the blue car up.

"Too cramped so you gotta ride in your own?" Nick snickered. The wolf smiled and shook his head. "It was nice meeting ya'll, but the burrows isn't where i'm headed", he said tossing in the last bag of food he was carrying into the blue car. The wolf smiled and returned to the store. Nick followed, making sure to grab the last of the blueberry muffins. They took quite a bit, but left enough for others. Nick and the wolf drug the four bodies to the back. They felt like they needed to bury them, but didn't have the tools, nor time. They stood silently for a brief minute, then returned to Judy, who took it upon herself to fill up the wolf's new car with fuel. Nick dusted off his hands on his hoodie.

"Well guy, thanks for not shooting us", Nick said sarcastically, extending out his paw.

"Same, Nick." James replied with a chuckle, shaking Nick's paw. The wolf gave a more serious face, "Be careful out there". Nick nodded, "I hope you find what you're looking for". The wolf smiled and knelt down to hug Judy. He stood up and walked towards the blue car.

"Do you think we'll see him again?" Judy asked. "Oh, probably, when this whole thing blows over", he said, waving at the wolf driving off.

' _But Nick, WILL this blow over? Will this nightmare come to an end?'_ She thought, looking over to the bodies behind the store, noting the small lynx.


	4. Reunion

Quick note for some of you who are not familiar with firearms! I had someone ask some questions about the weapons so here is some info!

Nick's "pump action shotgun" holds 7 shells in it's tube magazine, and one in the chamber. It needs to be manually reset after firing by pulling the grip backwards, then forwards to load a new round. This is called "cocking". The ammunition is a solid lead ball, called a "slug". Both of the handguns have a removable box magazine, which holds 14 rounds each, and one in the chamber. These handguns are semi-automatic, meaning they fire one time when you pull the trigger. The gun uses the recoil to load a new round automatically. Once you let off the trigger, it resets, allowing you to fire again.

People with firearm knowledge: Shotgun is a Mossberg 500sp w/slugs. Handguns are Glock 41's w/ 45acp JHP

* * *

Judy and Nick sat in the car at the station for a moment while she tried to call her mother, which went to voicemail after a few rings.

"You know, Fluff," Nick said taking a bite out of the gas station muffin, "I really wish we had grabbed some stuff out of your apartment before we left. Maybe some of that vodka".

"If we hadn't passed out drunk, maybe we would have heard some of the commotion outside and been able to help", Judy said in a low tone.

"Well" Nick said taking another bite, "We might be dead if we didn't sleep through the chaos, then we couldn't help anyone". The muffin was slightly stale, had over processed blueberries, tasted like cardboard, and Nick loved it. He hadn't eaten anything for a good fourteen hours. He knew Judy hadn't eaten either. Judy sighed, and lowered her head onto the steering wheel.

"He was right, you know", Judy started. "We abandoned the city. There might still have been people that needed our help". Nick Shook his head.

"He wasn't there, he didn't know how bad it was. We didn't abandon the city, the city was gone, Hopps. Now we have a chance to help others". Nick put his paw on her shoulder.

Judy took a deep breath and started the car.

"Thanks, Nick." she said, giving him a quick smile before putting the car in drive.

The drive was uneventful other than a few stumblers here and there. A few cars had passed them going the opposite way, making them wonder where they were going, and why they were leaving.

"Cottonwood County Line" Nick said, reading a sign as they drove past.

"The school should be a few miles from here" Judy said, trying to recall the way. Nick glanced at the clock. '10:54'.

They pulled into town, cautiously. There were a few stumblers and a lot of bodies. Having such a dense population so close together only helped whatever this was spread like crazy. But rabbits were quick, and most of them farmhands with tools they could makeshift into weapons. It didn't look like they had enough luck, though. The cars in the road were wrecked into each other, clustering around intersections and points of interest, such as the market. They crept along, looking carefully for any signs of life or danger. The stumblers were fairly interested in the already killed victims, rather than the slowly moving car. They pulled up to the school, which was surrounded by vehicles of all sorts, making an accidental barricade. Judy parked the car closest to the door, and shut it off. Nick loaded two new shells into the shotgun, making sure it was full.

Judy looked at Nick with a questioning look. ' _Does he doubt the school is safe?'_ Nick knew what the look ment and shrugged slightly. Judy picked up her phone again and dialed her mother. The phone rang and went to voicemail, just like before. She put the phone down and looked to the peaceful building. Her heart pounded, her gut said leave, her brain said run, but she reached for the door handle anyways. Nick opened his door and they both exited the vehicle, making sure to close their doors quietly. Judy had her handgun drawn as she walked in front of Nick, who was scanning the outside. They reached the double doors and she put her paw on it. She gave a gentle pull, and the door opened.

The halls were dark. There were a few windows and a few classrooms with their lights on, giving a slight glow down the long hallway. Everything was normal. No bodies, now blood, no carnage. Judy smiled and started down the narrow way. Nick gave a quick glance into each classroom as they walked past. Nick didn't like this. Even though he had excellent vision at night, he disliked the dark. He felt claustrophobic in it, but he pressed on, not daring to separate from his partner. They turned down hall after hall. The school was huge compared to Nick's inner city campus. Nick stepped in something wet, and slipped. His gun flew out of his hands and landed hard with a loud smack across the floor. The liquid was warm.

"Please don't be pee" Nick whispered before looking down. Before Judy could laugh at Nick falling, multiple grunts could be heard echoing the halls. Nick got to his feet and grabbed his shotgun, looking in all directions. A dark figure stumbled out of one of the classrooms they had passed. Nick raised his gun, but decided not to make anymore noise. He walked backwards and turned to go down the next hallway, following Judy. They walked around, slightly more quickly than before. Another stumbler appeared down the hall in front of them. Judy took another turn, almost panicking. The grunts and moans grew louder. They found the two large double doors to the gymnasium and pushed them open.

The doors opened with a loud ' _clank'_. The light from the large basketball court flooded around them.

Nick's arms went limp at the sight. Hundreds of stumblers crammed inside the gym, and even more bodies on the floor around froze in fear, her nose twitching. Her eyes darted across the gym looking for anyone she was related to. She saw a lot of neighbors and friends, and right in the middle of the court, she recognized some siblings. The stumblers walked towards the now open doors that had them trapped before. Nick looked in horror, but he couldn't distinguish who was apart of her family or not.

"Judy" Nick said looking over his shoulder, making sure they weren't trapped.

"We need to get out of here".

Judy only stared into the crimson eyes of death before her.

Nick slammed the doors closed in Judy's face, "Carrots, I'm really sorry but we need to go, right now!" he said grabbing her shoulder.

Judy didn't say anything. She didn't even raise her arms.

The stumblers banged on the other side of the gym doors, startling Nick. He grabbed Hopps and spun her around.

"JUDY" He yelled, barring his teeth. Her eyes went wide at that sight. Her instincts saw his teeth and screamed for her to run. Her animalistic instinct was terrified of Nick. She could easily suppress it most of the time, but now she couldn't. She fell backwards with a wince and a gasp. Nick took a step forward and reached out his paw. Judy flinched.

The grunts grew louder and the banging on the door grew more intense. Judy looked up at Nick, his mouth slightly ajar. Before she could speak, the door swung open. Nick raised his gun, shaking at the sight. Judy jumped to her feet and grabbed the back of Nick's hoodie, pulling him away. They both turned and ran back to the darkness. Around the first corner, a gray hare with overalls, bleeding from the neck reached out for them. Judy reacted quickly and fired one shot into his chest, causing him to fall. The shot rang out, alerting any inactive stumblers in the building for sure. Ears ringing, they pressed on. Another hare, female stumbled into their path. Judy took another shot but her breathing was heavy. She missed her target and the bullet ricocheted down the hall. She took aim once again and fired, this time hitting her mark. The body collapsed to the floor and another animal appeared. A smaller rabbit. Judy stopped and aimed her weapon, hesitating for only a moment before firing. She didn't have time to think about the age or who they were. She just needed to focus on getting out. She pressed on and turned down another hallway. A lion missing part of his leg, crawled before them. Nick aimed his shotgun and fired the slug right through his head. He cocked the shotgun and took aim at another rabbit that was following the lion. ' _Blam_ '. The gun went off with a spark, sending the rabbit falling backwards. He cocked his gun again and the duo continued. They turned down another hallway, and stopped at the sight of 20 or so stumblers, hobbling towards them. They turned around and went back the way they came.

Judy was lost. The darkness and constant turning ruined her sense of direction. They followed down the hall, turning down the opposite direction as before. Three more mammals, all rabbits blocked the way. Judy and Nick both took aim. The shots rang out. Judy fired twice and Nick fired once, cocked his gun and fired again. They continued past the blood, Nick cocking his firearm along the way. They quickly jogged down the hall before running into another large group. They turned around and ran the way they came. Before they could make it to the pile of bunnies they had taken car of earlier, another smaller group appeared ahead. Nick took aim and fired blindly into the group. Judy fired off three shots, before stopping. They were trapped.

Nick still had his gun raised. He swung around to the other approaching crowd.

"Oh god, Nick.." Judy said, looking defeated.

Nick looked around in desperation.

"The window!" He cried out cocking the shotgun.

The window was six feet off the ground, and four feet square.

He took aim and fired. The window shattered. He dropped the shotgun and put his paws together, opting to give Judy a boost. Judy Jumped into Nick and he threw her up to the edge of the window. She soared cleanly through to the other side.

Nick tossed his firearm through next and took a running start to the window. He grabbed the ledge and pulled himself over. His foot got caught and he fell to the ground, face first. Stars flashed from behind his eyes. His head pulsed with pain. He was grabbed and helped up by Judy. Nick stumbled to his feet and scooped his shotgun up. They were on the side of the school and ran towards the front. The shots from inside must have alerted a few of the stumblers from outside, as they started to swarm. Nick cocked his shotgun and fired at the closest mammal, an antelope. He cocked his gun again and aimed at the next, a zebra.

' _Click'_

He was empty. Judy took aim and fired away. Three shots and the zebra was down. Nick grabbed the shotgun in his left paw, and unbuttoned his handgun.

The car was in sight now, just past the front entrance. Nick fired into a small group of various mammals with four shots, taking two out. Judy stopped and took aim and fired as well.

'' _Blam' 'Click'_

She was out as well. She pushed the mag release on her firearm and pulled the empty magazine out, and stuffed it into her belt. She fumbled with a new magazine as she tried to put it in her gun. She was scared, heart beating fast and running. She finally pushed the fresh mag in and pulled her slide back, chambering a new round. Nick fired two more times and reached the car first, swinging the passenger's side door open. Judy flung the driver side door open and they both entered out of breath. The stumblers were closing in fast as Judy scrambled with her keys to fit in the ignition. The key slid in with a click and she started the car. With haste, she put it in gear and floored it. The car jolted forward, throwing the two deep into their seats. The car swerved around multiple vehicles, but clipped a zebra, splattering blood across the windshield. Judy gripped the steering wheel as tight as she could to keep the quickly accelerating car under control. Her heart was beating faster and faster, palms sweating, and stomach turning. Anxiety took over her body, causing her head to spin. The car pressed on faster, narrowly avoiding parked cars and debris.

"Judy! Slow down!", Nick pleaded. Judy's mind raced thinking about her family.

 _I saw my brothers. Dead. Is the rest of my family dead? What do I do now? What happe-'_

"JUDY!", Nick cried out.

The rabbit slammed on the brakes, violently halting the speeding vehicle. The car rocked to a stop in the middle of the street. Nick's breath was shallow and short. His heart nearly beating out of his chest. Judy just stared ahead, not saying a word. She felt dizzy, nauseous, and defeated.

Nick calmed his breathing, making sure to look around for any danger.

"Judy, wh-"

"I'm sorry", she interrupted.

Nick didn't know what to say. They both sat there in the silence, listening to the light hum of the engine.

Judy slowly turned her head to face Nick, opening her mouth but couldn't speak. Nick looked at her with sorrow filled eyes. The world was coming to an end, and there was nothing they could do about it. Adrenaline started to wither, slowing the duos hearts back to normal. A few stumblers came into view ahead, and a few more from behind. Nick pretended not to notice, his eyes still locked with Judy's.

An echo of gunfire rang out from somewhere in the city, causing Judy to tremble a bit.

"I can't do this", she whispered.

Nick wasn't the best at consoling others. He usually hid his own emotion with quips and just tried to be snarky when people were sad. He reached out to Judy, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing tight. She buried her face in his chest and began to cry.

"I.. I saw some of my siblings…" she choked out between sobs. "Nick, where are my parents?" she pleaded knowing he had no idea. Deep down, she knew they were probably dead, mixed in the horde in the gym. She knew she wouldn't see them again.

Nick scratched Judy's head, softly petting her in hopes to help. He had no words to offer for her situation. He was just doing what he liked when he was sad. They sat there for what felt like an eternity, before being forced back into the hell they were now apart of when an antelope slapped the Nick's window. The stumbler wanted so desperately to get into the vehicle for unknown reasons. He pawed at the window, but he was too weak to do any type of damage, except for emotional. The two partners embraced for another moment, lightly squeezing each other before moving back into their seats. Judy wiped her eyes and looked back at Nick, with a gasp.

"Nick, you're bleeding!" She said, pointing at his bloodied shorts. Nick looked down in horror, and quickly laughed.

"No, when I fell in the hallway.."

Judy laughed in relief. Nick's leg did hurt though, from when it got caught on the window. Not as much as his muzzle. He Looked over at the antelope, still trying to get in.

"Can we maybe.." Nick started, pointing at the stumbler.

"Yeah.. yeah" Judy said, nodding slowly. She pushed the accelerator and slowly started off. The stumbler followed suit. Judy turned the wheel to avoid the few stumblers that made their way towards the vehicle with ease. She was driving slowly, but quickly enough to avoid being caught.

"What.." She said, looking ahead, "What do we do now?"

Nick flipped on the radio, but only got the same warnings broadcasted as before. He switched channels over and over, only getting the same low tone. He sighed and turned the radio back off.

"We need to get more ammo", Nick said sternly. Judy always took the lead. She was smart, strong, and knew what to do. But right now she was hurting. He needed to take charge.

He opened his phone and opened the map search for a gun store or camping supply place.

' _Zero results'_ the phone read. Nick sighed. ' _Of course. Okay, where would guns be? Farm house? No..'_ He looked around for inspiration, or more desperation. His eye caught Judy's badge, clipped to her belt. ' _Police station!'_ he thought with a smile. He quickly typed it into his phone. ' _Sheriff's office. 2.1 miles'_

He smirked, looking over at Judy. He pointed ahead toward the small city street.

Judy followed the directions given by Nick, driving slowly and cautiously like before. After a short drive, they arrived to an old brick building, with faded paint that made out ' _SHERIFF'_. Judy parked the car, scanning the area before exiting. Nick loaded seven new shells into the empty shotgun, and pumped the action, chambering a new round. The two exited and walked to the door. Nick pulled and the doorbell chimed with a ' _bing'_. They froze and listened. A muffled noise. Someone or something was inside.

The waited another moment and entered the well lit building. The front had a small desk, some chairs and filing cabinets, and another door leading down a hall. They walked to the next door, a security door, and pulled. It clanked and clattered open.

"Hello? Anyone here? Officers from ZPD here!", Nick called out.

They both raised their weapons and waited for anything.

No one came around the corner, so they pressed on. Soft clanking could be heard from the next room over, the jail cells. Nick peaked through the window in the door to see 5 cells, all full of prisoners turned stumblers. Nick opened the door, alerting the cell mates. He lowered his weapon as they posed no threat. Judy looked around for anything helpful, but there was nothing but paperwork. She turned around and saw a small trail of blood. Her heart jumped and she raised her weapon. Nick turned around in a flash with his weapon raised.

"What? What is it?" Nick asked in a hushed tone.

His eye caught the blood trail that lead right to his feet. He laughed and shook his head.

"Carrots, you can't scare me like that" he said pointing at his blood covered shorts and legs.. The blood had dried a dark, almost black red, but was still wet on his legs.. Judy walked over to Nick and touched the wet fur.

"It's still sore from landing" he said wincing. She lifted her paw to reveal fresh blood.

"Nick, you are bleeding!" she said, nervously.

Nick looked down at his leg. His fur was thick and soaking up some of the blood. His wound was deep, but not enough so for stitches.

"Oh", Nick said, slight with shock.

The stumblers were reaching through their cells, trying to grab ahold of the orange fox who was just out of their grasps.

"Let's finish making sure this place is safe first. It doesn't hurt too much", Nick said, still trying to stay in control. Judy looked back at the prisoners and sighed.

The two walked out of the door and into the next. Three door remained. A locker room, a storage room, and an office. They walked into the locker room to find it empty. Just a shower stall, and a wall of empty cubbyholes. They turned back to the storage room. The room was divided in half longways, with a double sided shelf. The two side walls had cabinets and cork boards, while the middle shelf was for evidence. The clear bags with bright red tape across the top made them feel like they were going to get in trouble for being in there.

"See any weapons?" Judy asked Nick, hoping his slight height advantage could help. Nick pulled something off of the top shelf. A large evidence bag.

"Hey Fluff, wanna party?" He said, holding up the large bag of marijuana.

"Judy rolled her eyes and gave Nick an estranged look. He tossed the bag back to the shelf with a chuckle. He glanced around. "A pocket knife, switchblade, a hockey stick..

Nothing here." Nick said picking up another bag, "Just a bunch of drugs". He tossed the bag aside and exited. The office was the last hope they had. The door opened with a squeak. There was a desk in the center, surrounded by files and a dresser. Judy opened the desk, revealing a revolver. Her excitement faded when she found it was unloaded, with no extra ammo around. Nick opened the dresser to find four loose shotgun shells. He pocketed them, and continued his search.

"Nothing", Judy said with a sigh. Nick was disappointed. He let her down again. His leg tickled when the blood dripped off his leg fur. He put down his gun and walked out. He walked into the locker room and undressed. He switched shower faucet and the freezing cold water came rushing out, giving him a jolt. The water swirling into the center drain turned red as the mixed dry and wet blood was being washed off. His legs turned back to their natural orange color, and he shut the water off. He grabbed the white towel off of the rack, and stained it red with blood as he tried to dry off his leg. He put his boxers on and walked out to the main entrance, where Judy now was.

"I found some gauze and a bandage wrap", she said, looking at Nick. Her eyes ran along the lines of his chest and torso. His boxers hugged his waist, showing off his pelvic "v". She loved what she saw.

"So… You gonna help me or.." Nick paused, waiting for Judy to focus.

"W-yeah, yes!" she stammered, embarrassed. Nick was blushing under his fur.

Judy wrapped the bandage around Nick's leg, trying not to notice she was eye level and a foot from his crotch. Her eyes stayed locked to the wound, trying hard not to look. Nick held a snicker back from Judy's embarrassment.

"There we go!", she said, giving the fresh bandage a pat.

"Ow, dammit!" Nick snarled.

"Oh don't be a baby" She said raising her hand again, making Nick flinch.

"So.." Nick started, rubbing his wound, "You looked really scared at the gym when I, umm.."

Judy's heart unhinged from its place and fell hard. "Nick.. I.. I didn't mean to.

"No, yeah, no I understand that" He said reassuring her. "It's just, well.." He sighed. "Judy, what if I turn and try to attack you. What if I get infected? Can you.. Will you.." He stopped. Judy was frozen. Her head torn between making a joke, telling him how she feels, or just saying yes, or no.

"Umm.." She tapped her fingers together.

"Judy, I need to know that you can move on if something happens to me". Her eyes started to water.

"Nick, you're all I have left".


	5. Homecoming

Nicks mind went blank. He had no quips, no humor, no comeback. It dawned on him that they were alone. This wasn't a dream and nothing would be the same again.

"Judy, I.."

"Nick, I am so scared", she interrupted, "this... this is hell and there might not be anything left and we almost died and I don't know what to do now and... and.." Judy began to hyperventilate and tried to choke back the tears that were already running down her cheeks.

"Judy, it..."

"No!" She exclaimed, her words began to flow like a river. "Nick I don't know what is going to happen and I might not get another chance but damn it Nick I love being your friend and I love being your partner and I love our stupid movie nights and your stupid jokes and I love you Nick I love you so much more then I thought I could love anyone and I love how motivated you are and I love you, Nick I love you".

She gasped for air and tried to catch her breath. Nick's jaw hung open, and his skin was covered in goosebumps, making the fur on his arms rise. He had burred any feelings he had for her long ago before they could latch on. He just knew that she would never say the words back, but now here they were, covered in blood in the middle of the apocalypse. The feelings started to come back. His stomach became infested with butterflies and he felt a sense of unexplainable joy rush over him. His eyes swelled and before he knew what happened, he had embraced her in a hug. Her cold tears were now soaked up by his warm neck fur. Her paws nestled into his chest. Nick pulled her back and put his paws on her cheeks. He starred into the deep purple eyes for what seemed like forever, before pulling her in for a kiss.

They pulled back and opened their eyes slowly, hearts beating hard in sync.

"I guess you feel the same way?" Judy asked, almost not expecting a response. The fox, still in shock, nodded slightly, almost embarrassed. A soft smile came over Judy's face, but started to fade. She closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath.

"We don't know if it's safe here." She said, bringing the two back to the reality of the situation. Nick grabbed Judy's paw and gave it a light squeeze.

"What should we do?" Nick asked.

"we should go back", she said with hurt in her voice.

"Back where"?

The city.

The duo was back on the road and headed back towards the hell they had just escaped hours before. The rural country side had fresh produce and water, but was limited in other resources they knew they would need, along with it being so densely packed. The city had about the same population but was much more spread out. Judy drove across familiar road back down the way they came. Judy's mind jumped back and forth from the feelings she felt for Nick, the death of her family, and what the next move would be. Nick just watched out the window. Thinking about how his old friends were doing. He was worried. Not for them, but others that would cross their paths. The friends he had known were ruthless, paranoid, or heartless. In fact, the laws barley could keep them contained, but now with the city in chaos, he feared they would go wild, doing whatever they pleased, like fire in a dry forest. He had a chill go down his spine that radiated down his leg and made his wound flinch. He looked down at his bandaged leg and pressed down, giving him a slight sting.

Judy looked over at Nick messing with his wound. She was worried about him. He was fast but with a bad leg, a single bad step could be the end. She sighed heavily, which got Nicks attention.

"So… I'm Just going to ask this. Can I call you cute now or is that still a no?" He said with fake concern on his face. Judy couldn't help but smile a bit.

"You're a dork", she said shaking her head.

"I need to know if I have to refrain from calling you the cutest bunny ever, or the cutest partner, or the cutest…"

"You're pushing it, Slick." Nick smiled with his tiny victory. Nick flipped the radio on and switched between stations. Nothing but static and the repeating alert.

Nick clicked the radio off and held in a sigh. There was no point in expressing disappointment at a time like this. Nick broke the silence once again,

"So, do you think this is nationwide or contained here?" He asked, trying to strike up conversation.

"Nick, I'm still not even sure I know what is going on. One minute we were drinking too much and now…" Judy paused, not knowing how to finish her thought.

"Judy," Nick started, " I didn't say it earlier, but I love you too." A slight smile came over him. It felt good to say. Judy couldn't help but smile back. In that moment, everything felt just right. They passed a familiar motorcycle, and knew they were almost back.

1:17 the clock read as they entered the city limits. Judy drove slowly, cautiously looking for any signs of, well, anything. A few distant gunshots echoed the tall walls of the buildings, indicating at least someone was still alive. The streets seemed more chaotic then she remembered. Before long, there was too many cars in the way to continue forward. Judy put the car in park and turned it off. She looked over at Nick, who was focused on every piece of trash that moved in the wind, scanning for threats. She patted his paw and opened the door. She reached back and grabbed her pack. They were low on ammunition and high on snack cakes. Nick grabbed his pack and limped slightly from his leg wound. The city was far from quiet. There was sound of crashing cars, mixed in with screams and gunfire just loud enough to be herd, but not loud enough to follow. The duo set off down the street, navigating between the different sized vehicles like a maze of destruction. They needed to conserve ammo so they crept quietly down the sidewalk.

The distant sound of gunfire became slightly louder as they walked deeper into the city. Stumblers took notice of the fresh meat that was presenting itself to them. The duo pressed on regardless, trying to remain calm and not panic. They picked up the pace slightly as a small mob had formed behind them, making sure to stay ahead. They turned down an ally way and sprinted to the other side to get out of sight and to lose their stalkers.

"Left side!", an unfamiliar voice called out just ahead. the pair looked off down the street where it looked like about 20 stumblers or so had gathered around a small bakery. Bullets flew from inside of the shop wildly out into the small crowd.

Judy's face lit up as she raised her gun. Survivors. Hope, she thought. Nick softly grabbed her gun and pulled it down.

"W... what are you doing? We have to help them!" She said in a slight panic. The boarded windows on the shop came crashing down as stumblers began to pour in.

"It's too late", Nick said, "we don't have enough ammo." Screams could be herd only for a moment, but were quickly silenced. The gunshots stopped and the eeriness set in.

"Come on carrots, we need to go" Nick said, starting off in the opposite direction from the now over run bakery.

"We should have tried!" Judy shouted in protest. "We should have helped!" Nick sighed and turned back toward his partner.

"Judy, it was too late. There was too many and it was just not worth the risk".

"How are the lives of mammals not worth the risk?!" Deep down Judy knew it was too late, but the thought of not being able to help went against every fiber in her body. She knew there was nothing she could have done and that scared her more than anything.

"Come on carrots" Nick said softly, "let's go." Nick reached out his paw and clasped it in hers. She hesitated for a moment, but continued.

They walked through the desolate city, and passed countless boarded up windows, that had only been broken down again. They moved swiftly, trying to avoid any attention.

"S... st... stop right there!" a voice cried out from behind. The duo turned around and their gaze was met by the end of a gun held by a thin, shady looking lion. Nick and Judy half hazardly put there paws up.

"Hey buddy" Nick said, "were not those things. Were the good guys".

"I don't care!", the lion yelled, "I... I want your stuff! Give it to me! Now!" he stammered out. The noise grabbed the attention of a lone stumbler, who staggered out of an ally behind the lion. Judy put a paw on her firearm, but stopped as the lion focused his gun on her.

"D... Don't even think about it!" He said, visibly shaking. Judy opened her mouth to speak, but caught Nicks glance of disapproval. She closed her mouth and simply nodded. She slowly started to loosen the strap of her bag.

"N... Nice and easy! I want yo..." A soft groan cut the lion off. He quickly turned around only to be met by a much larger rhino with an open mouth. The lion quickly pulled the gun up but the rhino quickly chomped down on the lion's neck. The lion let out a blood curdling scream and fired his gun in desperation and panic. The bullets grazed the rhinos thick skin, but to no avail. Nick and Judy watched in horror as the blood poured out of the rhinos clenched teeth, burred in the lion's mane. Nick stepped back and grabbed Judy's arm. She couldn't take her eyes off the straggly lion, so desperately trying to fend off the attacker. She walked along with Nick, eyes still locked on the brutal scene. Her head slowly turned forward as they continued down the murderous city.

Every time Judy closed her eyes, she saw that poor lion.

 _He was just scared. I should have said something._ She thought to herself. It gave her an unsettling feeling in her stomach, like what she had done or didn't do was murder. She felt sick.

"Nick? Do you think we made the right decision… to come back here?" She asked quietly. Nick turned his head over to the bunny and turned back.

"I don't really think there are any right or wrong decisions anymore, carrots. I think there is only live or die now. And right now, were alive so, so far so good I guess."

Nick gave a smile but Judy was unsatisfied. She wanted him to just say 'yes, you made the right call'. But she knew better.

"Hey!", a voice called out from a closed gate. Nick and Judy readied their weapons in the direction of the voice.

"Whoa whoa!" The voice pleaded, "Hold on! Don't shoot!" A male deer peaked his head over the gate and waived. "You guys are cops, right?" He called, pointing at their outfits.

Judy lowered her gun, "Yeah", she called back. Some hushed whispering could be herd on the other side, but couldn't be distinguished. Nick was about to call out but stopped when the gate started to roll along the track, opening. A few mammals peered their heads to the sight of new survivors.

"Quick! Come on!" The deer called out. Judy and Nick exchanged looks and walked in.

The gate shut behind them as the familiarized themselves with the surroundings.

A few more than a dozen mammals walked around the inside of what seemed to be a storage unit facility, doing various activities. Nick looked over at an elephant and a tiger boarding up part of the fence while Judy's attention caught another tiger bandaging a fox.

"So… welcome to our little group I guess." The deer said, straightening up. "I'm Rick. Rick grimes." The deer held out his hoof while Judy and Nick exchanged glances.

A doe playfully pushed the deer, "His name is Rex. He just likes that stupid zombie show" She said, rolling her eyes, "I'm Sarah".

"Aww sis! Come on!" Rex pleaded, "If the world is ending, I want to change my name to something better then Rex!"

Nick and Judy watched the two argue awkwardly until Nick gave a soft cough to get the attention back.

"Oh right! Sorry" Sarah said, "It's good to see a few more officers out helping." Judy's ears perked up.

"Other officers?"

"Oh yeah", Rex started, "There was a wolf, a lion, and a cheetah that came a few hours ago, they went out to look for anyone else who needed help." Judy's heart was high for a second, thinking the cheetah could be Clawhouser, but quickly remembered the horrible death of her friend. Sadness started to creep back into her head.

Nick Looked back at rex, "How can we help?"

"Uhh nothing right now I guess. We heard that rescue was coming so we've just been waiting." Nick looked to Judy with a slight smile.

"Hear that carrots? Rescue is coming. Good thing we came back to the city huh?" He said, lightly punching her arm.

"Hey Rex, come help me with this?" A voice called out. The two deer waved and walked towards the office of the complex.

"Just get comfortable!" Rex shouted back at the partners. "Ask around if you want to help with anything if you want!" The two stood at the entrance and looked around. The other mammals looked hurt and upset.

"Nick", Judy said softly, "Rescues not coming."

"I know."


End file.
